Which to use
“causées” is a verb and “censées” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,897
- “causées” frequency rank
- #20,384
- “censées” frequency rank
- 38281
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | causées | censées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé féminin pluriel du verbe causer. | Féminin pluriel de censé. |
Where the eye mixes causées and censées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. causées (CVVCVVC) and censées (CVCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses causées with censées
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: causées is \ko.ze\ while censées is \sɑ̃.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
causées is recorded at frequency rank #17,897, classified as averb, pronounced \ko.ze\. censées is at rank #20,384, tagged as anadj, pronounced \sɑ̃.se\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 38281, this pair ranks #256,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of causées vs censées
Shared letters: cesé. Private to "causées": au. Private to "censées": n.
"causées" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC · "censées" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "causées" for "censées" ever safe?
Which is more common, "causées" or "censées"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "causées" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "censées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #256,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "causées" and "censées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "censées vs centers". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #256,373 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.